Vacuum Sealers

[Snoopy22 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Snoopy22]

G'day PPers,

I did a quick search and there doesn't seem to be a thread that covers this topic.
Does anyone use a vacuum sealer to pack/store food, I hear you can use the car fridge more efficiently i.e packing more in and don't have to freeze?
Any recommendations as to which one to buy e.g.value for money?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Snoopy we were looking at buying a vacuum sealer that is sold by a company in Caboolture which isn't so far from us. Lots of good reasons. Then I was talking with our butcher who cryovacs for nix if you order the meat early enough so since than we just give him a list of what we want and he separates the meat into meal portions as we ask and then does the whole sucking and sealing thing. We freeze the meat for at least two days before going away and then stock the fridge. Even if the meat defrosts (which it will depending what temperature you are running your fridge at) the meat is good for at least a month. We do overnight kayaking trips too and do the same thing. The vacuum sealed package is about 1/2 the size and is more robust as well. If you are getting rissoles made up they get all squashed together but a couple of minutes sorts that out.

So I guess what I am saying is see if your local butcher can do it for you. If you are looking to vacuum seal other stuff I cannot comment because our main concern was meat and the rest of the stuff is either too fragile to be squished or not a real issue.

Michael

[johnnydrama Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnnydrama]

In preparation for the PP Simpson trip next month I bought a Sunbeam VS7800 : http://www.sunbeam.com.au/products/kitchen/vs7800/ . I got it for $200 at Harvey Normans, they were the cheapest out of the 3 or 4 places i went and checked out. The good thing about this one that makes it worth the extra is that it pivots on it's back legs so folds upwards, taking very little counter space so you can leave it out rather than have to put it away. I can't believe the number of times I've found a use for it.

I have worked out that you're better off using the manual vacuum button rather than the auto "Vacuum and Seal" as you can give it a burst and then massage out any remaining air bubbles and give it another .... suck .... to get it all out. It comes with 1 roll of the "endless" bag, and 5 or 6 bags. Good investment IMO.

[Chris_M Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chris_M]

We have a Sunbeam VAC660 and it works a treat.

We can store fresh meat in the fridge for weeks and no problems. Great for storing frozen meals when we go camping.

One problem we had was trying to cook in the bag. We had sealed both ends of the plastic bag with the machine but when I cooked it in the boiling water the seal broke as I was trying to lift it out of the water and the meat stew ended up in the saucepan with the cooking water.
No real problem though, just added the pasta and it all tasted good.

[vxcruiser08 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vxcruiser08]

I purchased a sunbeam one from the good guys for $105 cash with 3 years warranty. It's been great, not sure why you'd need a higher end model? Dont know the differences... highly recommended though!

[Snoopy22 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Snoopy22]

Thanks for the quick feedback

[paulyc Member Find all posts View Profile Close paulyc]

We have the Freshield vacuum sealer. Got it free a couple of years ago in a deal when I bought our Waeco. It's pretty good but the annoying thing with the version I've got is you have to freeze whatever you want to seal first otherwise the unit will suck all the juices through and won't seal properly. I have been told they have a new model out that you no longer need to do this and it can also be run off 12v using a cig socket which could be handy if touring for sealing any fish caught or when restocking the fridge.

[outdoorgaz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close outdoorgaz]

I bought a Unika vacuum sealer at the Bris Camping show which has been good. Just come back from a 3 week outback tour including the Simpson. Before I went I pre-cooked some meals, (casseroles etc), put each nights meal into a take away container, froze it then put the frozen food block in a vacuum sealed bag before putting it back in the freezer.

When we left for the trip, 12 frozen meals went into the fridge taking up very little space. I put the fridge on low so they stayed frozen for quite a while and just heated one up in boiling water for 10 minutes with rice satchels per night which served two of us very well. Used paper plates so washing up was a breeze as well. Saved a lot of water, space and time while having good quality meals each night.

Note: Bags were solid so no problems in boiling water so will be buying these again.

Website for sealer: http://foodvacuumsealers.com.au

[John Member Find all posts View Profile Close John]

Paul,
I have the Sunbeam VAC430, and it works well. I buy the rolls of plastic from Aldi. Less than half the price, and just as good as the genuine stuff.

[Heath74 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heath74]

I have a luvelo brand one from ebay, very good quality unit. One of the best gadgets I've bought. I also bag up casseroles, chillies, curries and the like for longer trips, I just pour straight into a bag, and then freeze.
On shorter trips I put the meat in bags, at least you avoid getting blood around the fridge.

[talk2tiny Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close talk2tiny]

I bought a cheap one from grays online for $40 and its been working a treat for me. I haven't tried boiling in the bags though.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

I see that Aldi's recently had one on sale for $70 I think.... does anyone know if these are worth a look??


Rob

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

We have a sunbeam, not sure on the model. $129 from a local store and works well according to SWMBO

If you want to heat pre cooked meals then poke a small hole in them first then in the pot and boil, I did this last year on my Madigans trip and it worked a treat.

Cheers Andrew

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

I bought an Italian version Unika at this year's Perth Caravan and camping show. We froze all our meat and pre-cooked meals and vacuum sealed them. I really don't know why but the end result was no different from chucking everything into freezer bags and putting it all in the freezer. Don't freeze bread in them as it squeezes the bread slices to about 2mm and practically renders it useless. We still have a ton of meat after the last trip, I guess it will last longer that's all. And the missus chucked all the plastic bags away after opening them.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

We ended up getting the Aldi one.... will give it a go and see what the results will be.....